“Less than two years into his Senate term, Jim Justice is seriously considering launching a campaign to return to the governor’s mansion,” Politico reports.
“The West Virginia Republican is exploring a 2028 gubernatorial primary challenge to Gov. Patrick Morrisey.”
“Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, rejecting pressure from some Republicans to distance himself from the conservative iconoclast,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Vance: “Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”
“Former President George W. Bush is not among the listed potential speakers for next week’s Republican Party convention in Dallas, even though the event is virtually in his backyard,” Axios reports.
“The former president’s absence underscores the schism between the Trump-era GOP and the Bush-era GOP.”
“Maria Bartiromo, one of Fox News’s most recognizable anchors and a fierce backer of President Trump, is leaving the network, the company said Thursday,” the New York Times reports.
“In a statement, the network said: ‘Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with Fox News Media.’ It did not specify a reason for the abrupt departure.”
“The surprise defections of two Democrats on a Republican procedural vote has sparked soul-searching in the party and raised new questions about whether Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—the possible next House speaker—has the muscle to keep members in line,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The votes showed that problems could potentially pop in the center of the caucus, alongside anticipated blowups on the left wing, and followed a dust-up over Jeffries’s recent private meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law.”
For members: Hakeem Jeffries Is No Nancy Pelosi
“Ahead of next week’s Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, which is set to tout President Donald Trump’s record at a time when he still faces low approval ratings and a negative political environment, several battleground Republicans said that they either aren’t going to the convention or are still undecided,” ABC News reports.
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Democratic candidates know they must do ‘whatever’ it takes to win in November — even if that means asking the 2024 presidential nominee to stay away from their campaigns,” MS NOW reports.
Said Harris: “Bottom line, we need to win. I have run locally, I’ve run for statewide office and obviously nationally, and these candidates know what they need to do to win. And I would expect nothing less. I support them in doing whatever they need to do to win.”
Politico: Kamala Harris on red-state Dems keeping her at arm’s length: “Whatever they need to do to win.”
Charlie Cook: “With 64 days before Election Day (although the first mail-in ballots will go out in a matter of days), Republicans should brace themselves: The three most plausible outcomes are that it will be bad, really bad, or truly horrible.”
“The Secret Service should update its procedures for protecting the president, as well as other officials traveling abroad, protocols that haven’t changed since 1991, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday,” the Washington Post reports.
“The congressional watchdog’s findings come as the elite protection force faces scrutiny for its handling of multiple assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, as well as the use of Air Force One as a decoy to fly him out of Turkey in July.”
“Elon Musk’s super PAC, which spent over $260 million to back President Donald Trump and other Republicans in 2024, has entered the midterms. The group, known as America PAC, just reported its first major spending of 2026. All of the money supported Republicans,” the Washington Post reports.
“The group reported $800,000 in spending, almost all of it going to Senate races, according to federal campaign finance filings. The biggest beneficiary was Ken Paxton, who is facing Democrat James Talarico in Texas’s U.S. Senate race and received $250,000 from Musk’s group.”
A new Education Reform Now/Concord Public Opinion Partners poll in New York finds Kathy Hochul (D) leading Bruce Blakeman (R) in the governor’s race, 50% to 34%.
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“Congressional Republican leaders are putting President Trump front and center in their campaign to keep control of the House and Senate, even as some in the party say the strategy could increase the likelihood of a drubbing in the midterms,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“While many GOP lawmakers are embracing the president, others have started to sound the alarm publicly and privately that Trump’s low approval ratings could drag the party down in November. They say resentment is building as Trump focuses more on legacy construction projects and fights with allies than on helping Republicans keep control of Congress.”
“The Trump administration has proposed stripping private schools of their tax-exempt status if they consider race, furthering the administration’s intense pressure on institutions that have sought diversity in their classrooms,” the Washington Post reports.
Tucker Carlson essentially endorsed Abdul El-Sayed (D) for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Said Carlson: “I wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gun point.”
He called Rogers a “tool of Israel” and praised El-Sayed for “taking on” AIPAC.
President Trump has a new phone with gold accents on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
Just for members: The latest 
Just for members: The latest issue of